Syntax – 

This is the arrangement of words in phrase. A typical English syntax is, subject + verb + object rule. Examples “The girl loves the cat” the subject is in initial position, and the object follows the verb. Syntax are also found among sentences that are similar, such as “Harry saw Taylor” and “Taylor was seen by Harry.” Both sentences mean the same thing however they are phrased differently and object of the verb can be found in different position. In English, this is the typical order of a sentence. Take the sentence, “Johnny had fun.” Johnny is the subject, had is the verb, fun is the object. If we mix it up, it doesn’t make sense. “Fun had Johnny.” Nope. “Johnny fun had.” Not quite. “Fun Johnny had.” So to conclude a syntax is the arrangement of words to create full complete sentences.

Understatement – 

It is the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is. Which can also be seen as a form of sarcasm or verbal irony. This understates an event for a character which can be used as literary device used for characterization and show how they think and act. An understatement can also be used for comedic purposes. One example is say someone has been slapped quite hard and they say “oh its just a tap”. That would be a huge understatement because a tap and a slap differ by a lot. Another example is if someone broke their leg and said that it might be sore for a few days. They clearly didn’t see or understand the severity of a broken leg and made it to seem like it was less that what it was. My last example is say that someone won the grand lottery and their reaction was “oh I won a little bit of money no big deal”. When it reality it is a big deal because they won a whole lot of money. Not a little but a lot. To conclude an understatement is a form of sarcasm or verbal irony used to minimize the grandness and important of things.